The invention relates to utility vehicles, particularly to utility tractors for industrial and agricultural use that incorporate a front loader bucket.
Utility tractors include a front-mounted engine supported on a chassis and located in front of the driver. The engine is covered by a hood. The hood has an inverted U-shaped cross-section and is closed on a front end by a grille and on a back end by a firewall. The firewall is covered by a fuel tank and a steering console. Utility tractors that incorporate a front loader bucket include a support structure to support and brace movement of the loader bucket. The support structure includes two columns or towers arranged on opposite lateral sides of the fuel tank and steering console and extending substantially vertically, and a boom pivotally connected about a lateral axis to the towers at top ends of the towers. The boom is raised and lowered by a pair of hydraulic cylinders connected between the boom and towers.
The towers extend upwardly from the tractor chassis. The towers are spaced apart and located in the two spaces that are defined between the hood and the front wheels.
The present inventors have recognized that if the towers and booms are arranged narrowly spaced apart, close to the hood, driver visibility to observe the front axle and ground is impaired. The present inventors have recognized that this visibility is important because the front axle is typically the point of lowest ground clearance, the part that has the greatest chance of striking an obstacle beneath the tractor. The present inventors have recognized that if the towers and boom arms are placed widely spaced apart, close to the front wheels, driver visibility to observe the outside edges of the loader bucket is impaired. The present inventors have recognized that this visibility is important to allow precise finishing work by the loader bucket close to a structure without risking impact and damage to the structure. The present inventors have also recognized that it would be desirable to arrange the tractor hood to increase driver visibility to observe the top edge of the loader bucket. The present inventors have recognized that this visibility of the top edge of the bucket is important to sense whether the bucket is full by observing material spill over the top edge of the bucket, and is important to sense the bucket elevation and levelness.
The present invention provides a utility tractor having a front loader bucket, wherein the utility tractor has structural support components shaped to allow effective driver viewing of the front axle, the top of the bucket, and the side edges of the bucket.
Particularly, the tractor comprises shaped towers and boom arms that support and brace the loader bucket for movement. The towers are connected to the tractor chassis at a relatively wide spacing and extend upwardly to a position at which the hydraulic cylinders that control bucket raising and lowering are attached. The towers then curve, angle, are tapered or are otherwise offset, inwardly and then extend upwardly substantially in parallel to a point where the boom arms are connected to the towers.
The boom arms extend forwardly from their connection to the towers and then curve, angle, are tapered or are otherwise offset, outwardly to a wide spacing and then proceed forwardly substantially in parallel to the bucket connection. The tractor hood is sloped dramatically downwardly to allow improved visibility of the top of the bucket.
Because the hood is declined to a short front grille region, the grille region is wider to allow sufficient cooling area for the radiator. The boom arms are advantageously shaped to allow clearance for the wider hood at the grille.
The arrangement of the offset towers, offset boom arms and declined hood structure allows increased driver visibility to the front axle, increased driver visibility to side edges of the bucket, and increased driver visibility of the top edge of the bucket.
Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will be become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings.